Scroll to the bottom, click "start slideshow" and turn up your speakers.

mwc44

07-10-2007, 11:23 PM

Great find... thanks for sharing!

Hokiesox

07-10-2007, 11:35 PM

I can't watch! I got through 20 slides before remembering that I never saw a game there, and if one can have a lifetime regret at age 27, this is mine. I tear up everytime I think that I never saw a game at my beloved team's original ballpark.

Looked like a good find though

ChiSoxGirl

07-10-2007, 11:48 PM

I can't watch! I got through 20 slides before remembering that I never saw a game there, and if one can have a lifetime regret at age 27, this is mine. I tear up everytime I think that I never saw a game at my beloved team's original ballpark.

Looked like a good find though

I JUST said to my mom, as we were watching this slideshow, that I regret never sitting in a regular seat in that ballpark. I'm also 27 and only made it to Comiskey Park once- May 1987. We were in a skybox for my grandma's 65th birthday and I remember sitting in a seat outside the box with my uncle, but never in the concourse seating.

Frank the Tank

07-11-2007, 12:11 AM

Nice find. Seeing pics of Old Comiskey usually makes me upset they built the new one, but after looking at the 100+ pics... it really becomes obvious that it had to go.

Parrothead

07-11-2007, 12:20 AM

The seats were not always green......how come no one complianed ! :angry:

DSpivack

07-11-2007, 12:30 AM

Makes me sad that I was born in '84 and only got there once, when I was 6, in it's final season; but I'm amazed I actually remember it (right field bleachers, one of the first few rows in the upper deck). She was a beautiful park, but ready to go. It's also amazing looking the pics of New Comiskey then compared to now; the improvements are truly stunning.

pagansoxfan

07-11-2007, 12:55 AM

i nearly choked up. a ton of memories in there. it's funny bc my dad is a flub fan, yet took me to more sox games than anything else.first ever mlb game was vs boston in '82, last game was vs the angels in 90. i never realized how much i'd miss that place.lol @ those ticket prices on the windows.

Nellie_Fox

07-11-2007, 01:06 AM

I can't watch! I got through 20 slides before remembering that I never saw a game there, and if one can have a lifetime regret at age 27, this is mine. I tear up everytime I think that I never saw a game at my beloved team's original ballpark.Don't take it so hard. It is unlikely that anyone who remembers a game at the White Sox original park is still alive. The last season at The 39th Street Grounds (39th & Princeton) was 1910.

TornLabrum

07-11-2007, 10:51 AM

Don't take it so hard. It is unlikely that anyone who remembers a game at the White Sox original park is still alive. The last season at The 39th Street Grounds (39th & Princeton) was 1910.

There might be a lot of people alive who saw the Chicago American Giants playing there. The ballpark was their home until Wentworth Gardens was built.

roylestillman

07-11-2007, 11:12 AM

This is tremendous. To this day I still have dreams about being in that ballpark. It reminded me of a couple of things. First was what awful shape Comiskey was in by the time Veeck took it over in 1976. The early 70's in that place was downright scary when they averaged 6,000 a game. Veeck at least threw a coat of paint over the place and the 80's renovation had it looking pretty good.

Whenever you go to the new park you should look at the last remaining remnant of the old... There is a sycamore tree on 35th just east of the Gate 5 ramps which has a weather beaten sign that warns about the resale of tickets "at any price" The tree and the sign can be seen in the pictures of the old ticket office.

Can't believe its been 17 years.

stl_sox_fan

07-11-2007, 11:27 AM

I was lucky enough to be at the last game at Old Comiskey sitting in right center field. Someone had nearly broken the seat off the night before. The sad part was going to the 3rd game(1st win) at new Comiskey and walking by the open hole in the right field corner of Old Comiskey. Very surreal seeing the inside gutted.

Huisj

07-11-2007, 11:48 AM

The striking thing about the demolition pictures is just how long it took them to take the old stadium down. Lots of those are labeled as being September 1991. My family went to a game in August of '90 at the old park, and didn't make it back to another game for quite a few years after that, so I never was there that next year to see the old stadium being torn down. It's crazy to think that fans had to go through that whole next season seeing Old Comiskey being torn down so painfully slowly.

WhiteSox5187

07-11-2007, 12:26 PM

The striking thing about the demolition pictures is just how long it took them to take the old stadium down. Lots of those are labeled as being September 1991. My family went to a game in August of '90 at the old park, and didn't make it back to another game for quite a few years after that, so I never was there that next year to see the old stadium being torn down. It's crazy to think that fans had to go through that whole next season seeing Old Comiskey being torn down so painfully slowly.
That was sad. I was three when I went to my first game, the last night game at Old Comiskey and because of the noise I forced my family to leave in the sixth. I still miss the place though. Regretably, it had to go and I was just born at the wrong time since I was too young to appreciate games at Old Comiskey...I STILL wish that they had done more to make the new ballpark look more like the old one. I think that that was Reisendorf trying to put his stamp on the team with that new ballpark, try to kill the lest remanats of Veeck's influence because for a loooong time (until 2005 really) Reisendorf was living in Veeck's shadow. I don't know when we will get a new ballpark (we get a lot of use out our parks) but maybe when we do they will make more of an attempt to make it look more like the old one. Christ, hopefully I'll be owner of the Sox at that point.

AZChiSoxFan

07-11-2007, 12:32 PM

http://ballparks.phanfare.com/album/338350#imageID=20837583

Scroll to the bottom, click "start slideshow" and turn up your speakers.

Awesome, thanks for sharing!!

AZChiSoxFan

07-11-2007, 12:34 PM

I can't watch! I got through 20 slides before remembering that I never saw a game there, and if one can have a lifetime regret at age 27, this is mine. I tear up everytime I think that I never saw a game at my beloved team's original ballpark.

Looked like a good find though

I can totally relate. I remember back in 1990 thinking that I should just make the trip back and hit a game at the old park but I never did. Extremely stupid move on my part. Old Comiskey was the first park my Dad ever attended a game at.

WisSoxFan

07-11-2007, 12:35 PM

I forgot how compact it was. It sure seems like they stuffed a lot of seats into a small area. Thanks for the link.

puckereduppiet

07-11-2007, 01:11 PM

Thanks for sharing.

russ99

07-11-2007, 01:13 PM

Awesome link, but I had to stop the slideshow, as the demolition photos bugged me way too much.

That one shot of the left-field stands brought back tons of memories, especially when me and about 10 of my 8th grade classmates had first-row tickets for a Sunday doubleheader vs. Texas. :D:

Good times.

Love the new ballpark, especially with the recent renovations, but I still miss the old one.

soxinem1

07-11-2007, 01:36 PM

This did leave me in tears, but the trip down memory lane was priceless.

Ironic that such a 'crumbling dump', as JR often implied it was, took so long to tear down. I was there when the wrecking balls took their first hits, and it was quite a few before it started to fall.

tebman

07-11-2007, 01:56 PM

Wonderful pictures! I saw it from my terminal at work and didn't hear the audio if there was any, but the pictures alone are terrific. You can really get a feel for the old place seeing those shots.

I got my baseball education there like so many other fans of advancing age. I miss it too, but it really was at the end of its life. Too many structural and state-of-the-art problems that weren't practical to repair without starting over.

I think what made it such an enjoyable place for so many of us was its unapologetic industrial quality. I heard it described over the years as a factory and also as a steamboat without the paddlewheels. Exposed beams, old red bricks, concrete that still had impressions from the wood-plank forms that were used when the cement was poured in 1910, exposed cables, gobs of paint, etc. For me anyway, that was the South Side, big-shoulder personality that set old Comiskey Park apart from landscaped and tidy Wrigley Field. I like people and places that look as if they work for a living.

And the scoreboard! I'm still nostalgic for Veeck's original, but what a perfect topper to the place. If you're at a factory picnic or a rowdy bar with your neighborhood friends, you celebrate boisterously, and boisterous was the scoreboard's middle name.

The renovations at the new place have made a huge difference, giving the park the industrial feel that's part of the White Sox' DNA. Now they just have to make the scoreboard boisterous instead of pretty, and we'll call it done. :cool:

LITTLE NELL

07-11-2007, 03:50 PM

So many great memories. My first game in July1955 we beat Washington Senators,last game Sept 1990 we beat Boston. Actually worked 1 year as a vendor in 1962. Saw the Sox lose game 2 of the 59 world series. That 77 season still is a magical time in the great history of old Comiskey. Only year I didnt see a game was 1968, Viet Nam got in the way. 2005 was a great year but I think it would have been better in old Comiskey. I loved that ballpark!!!

RCWHITESOX

07-11-2007, 04:26 PM

I can still remember attending a game as a child in 1959 and sitting in LF when Minnie Minoso hit a home run and the ball landing in the row in front of me. The best part was that the GO GO Sox beat the Indians anyway. That was the first game I ever went to but definitely not the last. I still miss old Comiskey Park.

dwalteroo

07-11-2007, 04:51 PM

Oh man, thank you. I have one memory of the ballpark always comes to mind - I went to a game in 1986 (I was 11 at the time) for a birthday party for my friend Jeff. His dad got us general admission tix for next to nothing, and we sat in the upper deck of the third base side. We went in way before the game to watch batting practice, and who was out on the field but one shortstop named Ozzie Guillen. All 8 or 9 of us kept chanting "Ozzie, Ozzie" over and over while he was warming up. You could tell he was trying to ignore us, but we were being pretty loud, and finally he turned around and tipped his cap and bowed to us. It was hilarious and utterly awesome for an 11 yr old.

And now he's manager! I must be getting old, but thank you for that.

Oldschoolsoxguy

07-11-2007, 07:49 PM

Wow, that was something.I absolutely loved that old ballyard,the stench of stale beer & piss included.We all knew it wasn't pretty but we didn't give a ****.It was where our beloved Pale Hose played and that's all we cared about.The Sinatra music made it pretty tough to get thru the whole presentation.Beautiful memories.

WhiteSoxJunkie

07-11-2007, 08:12 PM

I'm glad a picture of McCuddy's was included. I don't think I've even seen a picture of that place. Does anyone know where I can find more pictures of McCuddy's?

nccwsfan

07-11-2007, 08:37 PM

Great slideshow- thank you for sharing it with us! The Cell is a great ballpark, but every once in awhile it's nice to remember games at old Comiskey.

OKCSoxFan

07-11-2007, 09:30 PM

My favorite pic of that whole slideshow was McCuddy's. I remember walking through with my dad when I was 10 thinking how cool it was to be in my first bar.

caracascat

07-11-2007, 09:49 PM

We need McCuddy's back! After years of beautiful customer service at Jimbo's makes you even miss it more

Max Power

07-12-2007, 08:56 AM

Thanks for the link. I only attended a few games at the old stadium, but it was a major factor in me becoming a Sox fan. It was loud and in your face with the pinwheels and fireworks, which made a lasting impression on me.

Law11

07-12-2007, 09:28 AM

Thanks for that.. My childhood revisted...
Never gets old remembering the smells and feel of that place
as a kid approaching the park from the viaduct on 35th and seeing those huge light towers. Then going in and sneeking a peak from the golden boxes behind the plate.

I just remeber a vendor stand in any available space in that place selling food, souveniers, whatever. I remember passing by the bar down there and seeing all the grown-ups and thought someday I'll get to hang out in there..

I had my first legal beer there just before they moved..
The cell is a great place but its still missing that intangible that the old park had, maybe the cheesy murals, maybe the smell of 80 years of stogies, I dont know, maybe its just that I grew up in th old place and thats the intangible for me.

HerzogVon

07-12-2007, 11:59 AM

In the later years, the wife and I got in the habit of taking a break around the fourth inning and heading down to take the "tour" of the old ballpark. Descending into the bowels of Comiskey was always an experience. You could start at any point, head in either direction and end up back where you started. It was a good way to keep the circulation going, and of course there were always stops for food - loved the Italian sausage - as well as freshening up on beer.

What I remember most vividly were the lime stalactitites hanging down, close enough to touch. Only wish now I'd broken one off and kept it as a souvenir. Who needs seats or turf when you have a genuine geologic wonder?

Law11

07-12-2007, 12:27 PM

I just remeber practically sliding down the ramps in the summer from the humidity and the concrete ramps.. Always seemed to be a little more wet near the washrooms.:redface:

tony1972

07-12-2007, 05:17 PM

1990 was the year I became a Sox fan and luckily went to about 15 games that summer..

I remember going to classes at UIC in winter of 1990 and spring of 1991 and seeing the ballpark being torn down...it was a horrible thing to see...:(:

robertks61

07-12-2007, 06:24 PM

My favorite pic of that whole slideshow was McCuddy's. I remember walking through with my dad when I was 10 thinking how cool it was to be in my first bar.

There is a pic in the Photo Gallary of this website. I took it years ago.

Save McCuddy's

07-12-2007, 11:15 PM

Breaks my heart all over again -- just when I was finally getting over it.

MeteorsSox4367

07-12-2007, 11:49 PM

I worked there for SportService in high school in the summers of '84 and '85. The commissary to which I was assigned was right down the left-field line, not too far from the entrance to the Sox clubhouse. It was cool because I got a lot of the players to sign for me since I was by myself.

Looking at some of those pictures, I'm 11 years old again, the Sox are playing Baltimore and my cousin ends up with a cup's worth of mustard on his white shirt that someone threw down from the upper deck in left.

Just a lot of great memories. I work a few blocks from there now and I drive past every day. The day I started my current job six years ago, I got out and said a short prayer on the plate at Old Comiskey that everything would turn out well.

I like the Cell a lot and the improvements are excellent, but Old Comiskey will always be considered home. Loved the slideshow.

Nellie_Fox

07-13-2007, 12:46 AM

my cousin ends up with a cup's worth of mustard on his white shirt that someone threw down from the upper deck in left.Why would someone throw a white shirt from the upper deck?

daslobo

07-13-2007, 01:02 AM

Looking at that slide show makes me actually appreciate the new place. Don't get me wrong, Old Comiskey was electric. I'll always remember the smells inside, stopping by Minnie's office and Nancy's organ and the magical green grass once you walked up the ramp into the seats. No place can equal what that place once was, but it really was time to go. At the time, I was upset beyond belief but realized that the costs of repairing were prohibitive and that even yankee stadium had to be completely rebuilt. I've grown to love the new place and the memories that happened there too and now I wouldn't trade it.

DickAllen72

07-13-2007, 01:15 AM

So many memories from my youth are tied up in that old ballpark. In the summers of the'70's, that place was practically my second home.

I loved the slides showing the park standing, but it was depressing watching the slides of the demolition. All things must end, but still it is sad.

gowhitesox

07-13-2007, 02:12 AM

That was awesome. I got a little tearing eyed seeing the demoltion.

It bring back alot of memories.

MeteorsSox4367

07-13-2007, 09:23 AM

Why would someone throw a white shirt from the upper deck?

Sorry. I didn't know the grammar police were working so late at night.

Let's try this: My cousin, who was wearing a white shirt at the time, ended up with his garment covered in mustard after someone threw a cup filled with the condiment from the upper deck to the lower deck.

Better?

cbone

07-13-2007, 10:06 AM

Thanks so much!!!! Great find, great memories!!!! :whiner:

Fenway

07-13-2007, 10:25 AM

The striking thing about the demolition pictures is just how long it took them to take the old stadium down. Lots of those are labeled as being September 1991. My family went to a game in August of '90 at the old park, and didn't make it back to another game for quite a few years after that, so I never was there that next year to see the old stadium being torn down. It's crazy to think that fans had to go through that whole next season seeing Old Comiskey being torn down so painfully slowly.

July 4th weekend in 1991 I was driving up the Ryan after a 16 hour drive from Boston....I got off at 35th St knowing what was happening but was not prepared for it.

The First Base Grandstand was gone but Third and Left Field just looked the same. I started bawling.

My heart was ripped out when the Boston Garden was torn down brick by brick and I always have dreaded the demolition of Fenway but now it looks like that won;t happen for decades.

Jollyroger2

07-13-2007, 10:41 AM

New poster here, longtime lurker....am in the DC area but lived in Joliet a while...been a Sox fan since the mid 70s....great pictures...been to Comiskey so many times...my grandfather owned a masonry company in the 80s and had several contracts with the Park, so I got to spend lots of quality time there during the day, wandering the park, etc...then so many games.

Great park, great atmosphere, great food....sad to see the destruction pictures but it was time...

Sox-on-TV44

07-13-2007, 12:50 PM

:smile:

Best.Ballpark.Ever!

I miss the place,:whiner:

MeteorsSox4367

07-13-2007, 12:56 PM

My heart was ripped out when the Boston Garden was torn down brick by brick and I always have dreaded the demolition of Fenway but now it looks like that won;t happen for decades.

Fenway: I feel your pain. I felt the same way when one day I was traveling eastbound on Madison St. and witnessed the wrecking ball tearing into the Stadium. Part of the east end of the building was up and I remembered all the Hawks' games I attended there. Heck, I even went to a Bulls game and a Sting game there.

The Stadium was just an awesome venue for hockey. I couldn't choose between Comiskey and the Stadium for the childhood athletic arena I loved more.

Fenway

07-13-2007, 01:05 PM

Fenway: I feel your pain. I felt the same way when one day I was traveling eastbound on Madison St. and witnessed the wrecking ball tearing into the Stadium. Part of the east end of the building was up and I remembered all the Hawks' games I attended there. Heck, I even went to a Bulls game and a Sting game there.

The Stadium was just an awesome venue for hockey. I couldn't choose between Comiskey and the Stadium for the childhood athletic arena I loved more.

The Garden being downtown there was no way to avoid seeing it :whiner:

Was in Europe back in May. Whats amazing is that if a building is a couple hundred years old its considered modern. They dont tear down anything over there. On the other hand here in the states 100 years old is considered ancient.Here in SW Florida, they are tearing down buildings that are 10 years old! Bottom line is that Comiskey should have been saved with less money than it cost to build USCF.

Parrothead

07-14-2007, 09:00 AM

Was in Europe back in May. Whats amazing is that if a building is a couple hundred years old its considered modern. They dont tear down anything over there. On the other hand here in the states 100 years old is considered ancient.Here in SW Florida, they are tearing down buildings that are 10 years old! Bottom line is that Comiskey should have been saved with less money than it cost to build USCF.

Maybe in about 20 more years they can rebuild one on its' original site since USCF will be obsolete.

Wsoxmike59

07-14-2007, 11:23 AM

Excellent slide show thanks for sharing. I never thought I'd get over the demolition of Old Comiskey Park. I loved that old ballpark.

The 1991 season was so very tough on me because every time you went to New Comiskey you had to walk past the old one and see it being torn down. (Little by little too, and just watching it die a slow death was gut wrenching for me) :whiner:

But time marches on, and I finally started feeling comfortable in the new digs in 1993. I remember remarking to a friend who came in from out of town during the '93 Playoffs that this was "home" now, and I'm beginning to like it.

The renovations that have taken place since the end of the 2000 season have been remarkable. The new Comiskey/U.S. Cellular Field is a stunning beauty and a great place to watch a game. I can honestly say I love going to U.S. Cellular as much as I ever did going to the old park.

And I never thought I would ever say those words. Especially during the 1991 season when I despised the new ballpark and cursed its' existance.

ramorgan1

07-14-2007, 02:50 PM

Sorry. I didn't know the grammar police were working so late at night.

Let's try this: My cousin, who was wearing a white shirt at the time, ended up with his garment covered in mustard after someone threw a cup filled with the condiment from the upper deck to the lower deck.

Better?

Very well done second time around. This part made me laugh.

Seriously though the slideshow was awesome. I NEVER got to go to Old Comiskey. sigh.

oldcomiskey

07-14-2007, 05:35 PM

a slideshow of Me??? You shouldnt have===oh, you didnt

Frankfan4life

07-15-2007, 01:11 AM

Two things I'll never forget about the old Comiskey Park, besides watching the Sox, is the time someone threw a blanket over my head from the upper deck and the time my son got sick and we had to leave early and we accidentally walked near where they shot the fireworks off and just then they went off and scared me and my son half to death.

I really miss that old ball park.

oldcomiskey

07-15-2007, 03:23 PM

My dad said it was just a ballpark and I told him I dodnt think of it that way. It was history. Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb and every AL ballplayer played there from 1910-1990. I still get misty eyed when Sinatra sings there used to be a ballpark right here.

Hitmen77

07-15-2007, 10:27 PM

Looking at that slide show makes me actually appreciate the new place. Don't get me wrong, Old Comiskey was electric. I'll always remember the smells inside, stopping by Minnie's office and Nancy's organ and the magical green grass once you walked up the ramp into the seats. No place can equal what that place once was, but it really was time to go. At the time, I was upset beyond belief but realized that the costs of repairing were prohibitive and that even yankee stadium had to be completely rebuilt. I've grown to love the new place and the memories that happened there too and now I wouldn't trade it.

I totally agree.

Great slideshow. I was at the old place maybe a total of six times - so I don't have a ton of personal memories from there. But this slideshow has a lot of great shots and brings back what I remember about the park.

One thing I regret about the old park is that, other than us die-hards, people really didn't appreciate it until it was gone. Before 1990, all I ever heard from people was gripes about how dumpy the place was. Once it was gone, all this revisionist history happened where EVERYONE loved the old place. Yes, we die-hards did, but if half the people who had a newly-professed love for old Comiskey after 1990 actually showed up to the place one in a while when it was around, maybe the Sox wouldn't have spent their last few decades there in a financial pinch.

However, I'm satisfied with the fact that the old park had reached the end of the line and it was time to move on. At first, I was disappointed that the new park was so generic and had so little character - but they've really fixed it up nicely. Also, at this point there are so many new memories associated with the new park (Ventura's walk-off grand slam on 7/31/91, '93 AL West clincher, THE ENTIRE 2005 SEASON, Mark Buehrle's no-hitter) that it really feels like home to me.

Hitmen77

07-15-2007, 10:37 PM

....as I said, great slideshow, but one thing I noticed is that one of the slides is centered on an IIT building and the caption says that the building is from the notoriously bad housing projects that were near the park. The projects can be seen in the pic, but I'm pretty sure the building they are referring to is part of IIT and is still there.

Also, I think that picture really captured how rough-around-the-edges the old place was. I had a little laugh seeing how even the parking lot looked crappy. Did every Sox fan in the '70s and '80s drive cars that leaked that much oil?:redneck

tacosalbarojas

07-16-2007, 12:15 AM

Excellent slide show thanks for sharing. I never thought I'd get over the demolition of Old Comiskey Park. I loved that old ballpark.

The 1991 season was so very tough on me because every time you went to New Comiskey you had to walk past the old one and see it being torn down. (Little by little too, and just watching it die a slow death was gut wrenching for me) :whiner:

But time marches on, and I finally started feeling comfortable in the new digs in 1993. I remember remarking to a friend who came in from out of town during the '93 Playoffs that this was "home" now, and I'm beginning to like it.

The renovations that have taken place since the end of the 2000 season have been remarkable. The new Comiskey/U.S. Cellular Field is a stunning beauty and a great place to watch a game. I can honestly say I love going to U.S. Cellular as much as I ever did going to the old park.

And I never thought I would ever say those words. Especially during the 1991 season when I despised the new ballpark and cursed its' existance.
Every word you wrote here is Gospel...

ChiMan921

07-16-2007, 04:17 PM

With all it's warts, it was OUR place!

All you have to do is remember the Bill Veeck days when the Hitmen were blasting homers evernight to the tune of 38,000 fans - Holy Cow!

Gamble, Zisk, Harry and Piersall, The Bards Room, oh what a time.............:(:

KingXerxes

07-16-2007, 04:44 PM

It was a great sideshow - one which depressed me to no end.

I had more fun in that place as a kid than should have been allowed.

Oh well............

chisox77

07-18-2007, 09:40 AM

Great slideshow. Excellent photos. It actually brought back how the place felt. I have many memories of Comiskey. But I must say that it was falling apart, which is the only thing that allowed for the new park to be built. Even with the sad truth of an aging classic crumbling, it still was hard to let go of. Again, thanks for the great slideshow.

ChiSoxFan7

07-18-2007, 10:34 AM

the picture of the new and the old (4th from the end) is just amazing. I never knew they left both up at the same time.

but i do i have two questions.

When did comiskey become the cell? '04 or '05 i couldn't remember.

and is old comiskey a parking lot now?

tebman

07-18-2007, 11:59 AM

the picture of the new and the old (4th from the end) is just amazing. I never knew they left both up at the same time.

but i do i have two questions.

When did comiskey become the cell? '04 or '05 i couldn't remember.

and is old comiskey a parking lot now?
That is a great picture. My wife bought me a large print of that side-by-side photo that I now have hanging in my house next to a print of a watercolor painting of old Comiskey Park. That was part of a series of pictures that were taken the day of the final game at the old ballpark (9/30/90). My sons and I were at that game -- wouldn't have missed it.

As to the name change, according to Wikipedia it was 2003. And yes, the site of Old Comiskey is a parking lot, though there's a nice stone inlay showing where home plate and the batter's boxes were.

If you're in the city sometime when the Sox are on the road, drive by there and park on Shields and go take a look:

http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/images/848/20050701_comiskey.jpg

drjohnnyfever

09-30-2007, 02:18 PM

I am the guy who has the website of ballpark photos, especially the old Comiskey photos. I joined your site the other day and I just want to thank all of you for the posative responses. This site www.ballparks.phanfare.com (http://www.ballparks.phanfare.com) is done for all the fans of baseball who can't get to these parks. I have been fortuante to have seen major league baseball games in 44 different parks. There are more parks that have been added to my site. enjoy and thanks again for all the nice comments!

bryPt

09-30-2007, 02:58 PM

awesome photos sir. Great job! My head is swirling with incredibly awesome memories.

Boy, did I spend a lot of time at that place. I went to every game that fell on my birthday for 10 straight years with my father, some of the best times I had in my life. He was not a big baseball fan, but loved taking me because I loved the game so much. We were at the 3rd to last game. I remember going there on my way back from Roosevelt on nights we had late classes and sit there in the right field upper tank and be the only one's up there, they would shoo us away after an inning or 3. I probably took 5 showers in center field, saw Harry a dozen times (never without a beer in his hand!) and loved every second I spent in that place, even if they lost.

But it had to go, I remember leaning on the girders holding the upper tank up and thinking "I need to get a tetinis shot", the place smelled like Wrigley does now (urine) and it was incredibly small. I was sad that it was torn down, and I thought having it being torn down while the new one was up was some kind of mean stab. But I fit right into the new place, going to the 3rd game there with my father once again, so we could start more great memories.

As long as we have photographs like this, and great great memories, that is all you need to remember a great place like this.

Thanks again for posting them!

drjohnnyfever

09-30-2007, 03:15 PM

Its my pleasure. I was first at Comiskey in 76 coming back to Calif. from the east coast. My dad didn't like baseball, but he stopped and let me take photos of parks across the country. I was fortunate to get to Comiskey in 76 early on a Sunday morning. The gates were open, so I walked in and took the photos. Since 9-11, it's alot harder to do that now. I know County stadium in Milwaukee was a dump, but it, like Comiskey and the others, was a ballpark. I grew up going to Anaheim stadium when 5000 people would be in the stands to watch Nolan Ryan pitch. We didn't have the old parks in California like they did back east. I will keep posting photos of parks as long as people like what I am doing. Thanks again for the great words.

tebman

09-30-2007, 03:48 PM

But it had to go, I remember leaning on the girders holding the upper tank up and thinking "I need to get a tetinis shot", the place smelled like Wrigley does now (urine) and it was incredibly small. I was sad that it was torn down, and I thought having it being torn down while the new one was up was some kind of mean stab. But I fit right into the new place, going to the 3rd game there with my father once again, so we could start more great memories.

As long as we have photographs like this, and great great memories, that is all you need to remember a great place like this.

Thanks again for posting them!
Quoted for truth. I too grew up in the old ballpark and miss the corner-tavern quality of the place, but its life was at its end. It had the same problems Wrigley has now: crumbling concrete, inadequate restrooms, too many bad seats, and the club was spending millions on structural repairs to keep it stable.

But the gift of great photographs like these keeps the memory alive, and that in the end is what we all can hope for. Horsecarts, steam locomotives, and typewriters are other things that are held in fond memory but their time too has passed. Old Comiskey was a link the chain between then and now.

Thanks, DrJohnny. Great work!

Fenway

09-30-2007, 05:06 PM

I enjoyed the pictures of Fenway 1976. That is the park I grew up with

Thanks

drjohnnyfever

09-30-2007, 05:28 PM

1976 was my first trip to Fenway. I grew up on the west coast, but have been a Sox fan for geez.. 40 plus years now. Ever since I was a little kid. My mom was born in Lowell, so I guess it was born into me... I can remember that day I took those photos as if it was yesterday. Hot and humid and overcast July sunday. The sunday before the all star break.

Fenway

09-30-2007, 05:33 PM

1976 was my first trip to Fenway. I grew up on the west coast, but have been a Sox fan for geez.. 40 plus years now. Ever since I was a little kid. My mom was born in Lowell, so I guess it was born into me... I can remember that day I took those photos as if it was yesterday. Hot and humid and overcast July sunday. The sunday before the all star break.

Last year I was out in the Bay Area and went as a fan to both parks in the span of 5 days. I had been to Oakland before Mt Davis was built and found it nicer than Candlestick. Now? It has to be the worse park in MLB.

AT&T park lived up to the hype I had heard. Wonderful ballpark.

drjohnnyfever

09-30-2007, 05:38 PM

Yeah I was at the mausoleum ERRR the coliseum yesterday for the A's game. It's a god awful place to watch a game. They need a new park bad. Candlestick was just COLD.... that wind would kill you. It can get nasty in Oakland too. That fog and wind rolls in from the bay and it can be brutal. ATT park is one of the nicest. China basin where they built it used to be a dump. Warehouses etc.. now, multi million dollar condos, restaurants and the park. I grew up in so cal, and literally lived at Anaheim stadium.

Nellie_Fox

10-01-2007, 01:40 AM

Fever, don't make a habit of bringing back long-dead threads. It is not encouraged here.

Railsplitter

10-01-2007, 08:47 AM

Great shots. They look like they're professional grade, too.

Region Rat

10-03-2007, 12:14 PM

This is great stuff. I was born in 1984, and ever since I was 2 my pops has takin me to a couple Sox games every year. So I am lucky enough to have been to games at Old Comiskey. But being so young my only really clear memories are of Andy the Clown, fireworks, and exploring the park with my dad and little brother (he joined in, in 87). But its great to have bragging rights over all my friends who have never been to a game at the old park.

LITTLE NELL

10-03-2007, 03:59 PM

Some of these posts really make feel old, when I read that some of you never saw a game at the old Baseball Palace. Saw my 1st game there in 1954 and when I think about the old place sometimes it brings tears to my eyes. I saw hundreds of games there and also was a vendor in 1962. Comiskey park after my wife and family is one of the great loves of my life.

Ex-Chicagoan

10-03-2007, 06:13 PM

Very nice - many great memories. Got to see dozens of games there from '77 on. Many years of skipping school on Opening Day to catch a game.

I was there for Thurman Munson's last game in '79; he was killed the next day in a plane crash. I was there the night before we won it in '83, watching the scoreboard, hoping Oakland could beat KC. I was there for Jack Morris' no-hitter in '84. I can't count the number of Hall-of-Famers I saw roam the field there. So many scorecards packed away...

tebman

10-03-2007, 08:05 PM

Very nice - many great memories. Got to see dozens of games there from '77 on. Many years of skipping school on Opening Day to catch a game.

I was there for Thurman Munson's last game in '79; he was killed the next day in a plane crash. I was there the night before we won it in '83, watching the scoreboard, hoping Oakland could beat KC. I was there for Jack Morris' no-hitter in '84. I can't count the number of Hall-of-Famers I saw roam the field there. So many scorecards packed away...
My wife and I were at that game too! Sat in the left-center lower deck and kept telling her, "They're going to do it...I can feel it." We stuck around and watched the Oakland-KC game from our seats while a couple thousand sat on the outfield grass to watch. It was like being in an enormous family room with everybody watching the game. A great night!

Procol Harum

10-04-2007, 11:11 AM

Very, very nice--lots of great memories from tooling up in the right field parking lot in a school bus on Little League Day for my first game in 1963, down through the years until the third to last game my #1 son (he was 14 then) and I attended there in Sept. 1990....sigh...

Even so, I'd have to say that for these old bones, the new digs of the Cell are a lot more comfortable than Old Comiskey...

Joliet Jeff

10-05-2007, 10:17 PM

Great post. It gave me goosebumps seeing all the pictures and sparking all my forgotten memories there. I wish they would have done something better for us to remember it by. The home plate monument just doesn't cut it.

bryPt

10-05-2007, 11:46 PM

Fever, don't make a habit of bringing back long-dead threads. It is not encouraged here.

Nellie, I think maybe this one is a little different though. It is an exceptional post of quality content that I would have never seen if it wasn't brought back. So exceptional, that maybe the link should be added to the photos area of this site? I think many members at this place would love to see it that didn't with the original post.

Just a thought. Peace out, Go Diamondbacks!

drjohnnyfever

10-06-2007, 12:30 AM

Nellie, I think maybe this one is a little different though. It is an exceptional post of quality content that I would have never seen if it wasn't brought back. So exceptional, that maybe the link should be added to the photos area of this site? I think many members at this place would love to see it that didn't with the original post.

Just a thought. Peace out, Go Diamondbacks!

I am brand new to the sox board. I did the slideshow sites for the ballparks, and someone emailed me on another board saying how good the response has been here at the Sox board. So far, the Comiskey I slideshow is getting the most hits. I am glad you all like what I am doing. I keep adding new parks all the time.

C-Dawg

10-07-2007, 12:57 AM

I'm glad this thread got brought back to life too; I missed it the first time around. I spent about 3 hours at work yesterday looking at slide shows! Lots of good stuff there, and a lot of cool parks. Keep up the good work!

JimRivera

10-07-2007, 01:48 AM

Procol Harum: My first game was also 1963, NYYs beat our Sox 8-4 and 8-2 on August 18th , 1963...first Sox I saw was J.C. Martin and I remember looking up-close at Dave DeBusschere and pot-bellied Juan Pizarro through the Picnic Area fence as the steaks sizzled there.
Dad drove me and another kid to our first game in a Studebaker Champion.
I walked up to the window and ordered $3 box seats and got laughed at; all we could get was grandstand , the sign said $1.51 for some reason but they were $1.50 seats. I remember a beer vendor...40 cents , Hamms. Parking was cheap, too. Many, many trips across Indiana in the ensuing years until it was over, and this slideshow was bittersweet , at best. From 1985 'til the end, I only sat in the center field bleachers. The "real" Jim Rivera is the only Sox I ever had a real conversation with, many times in his "Screwballs Lounge" at his Angola, IN restaurant, Captain's Cabin, many years ago.:tongue:

TheKittyMomma

10-07-2007, 06:38 AM

Hello, everyone, newbie here! Thanks for sharing these photos of Ol' Comiskey. This brought back a lot of memories.

:smile:

RadioheadRocks

10-07-2007, 06:43 AM

Hello, everyone, newbie here! Thanks for sharing these photos of Ol' Comiskey. This brought back a lot of memories.

:smile:

:welcome: and enjoy the site!

I concur those are great pix. The ones taken while Comiskey was being demolished were sad and difficult to look at. I couldn't bring myself to take any pix of the old park coming down. I took one last set of photos the weekend before demolition started, then one last pic on Opening Day '91 of the main corner, with the Speedway Wrecking banner ("The Hardest Hitter of All-Time") under "Comiskey Park".

SoxSon

10-11-2007, 02:44 PM

I remember Comiskey Park as a large playground, where I spent most of several summers in the 1960's. I would ride down to the park early with my dad and a few other players, shag fly balls in the outfield during batting practice before the game, hang out in the clubhouse, then go to the pass gate window before the game to get my ticket. A box seat ticket was $3.50 if you had to pay for it. There was a lower level reserved section down the third base line for the families of Sox players. After the game we would stay for the fireworks show, then head to the player parking lot where my dad and the other players would come out. We lived in Hillside with a number of White Sox players, Joe Horlen, Ron Hansen, Al Weis, Pete Ward, Hoyt Wilhelm, Mike Hershberger, and Ken Berry to name a few. The playes would carpool to the park so their families would have a car. Hard to believe most players had one car and lived modest lives in the 60's.

TheCommander

10-11-2007, 04:50 PM

I remember Comiskey Park as a large playground, where I spent most of several summers in the 1960's. I would ride down to the park early with my dad and a few other players, shag fly balls in the outfield during batting practice before the game, hang out in the clubhouse, then go to the pass gate window before the game to get my ticket. A box seat ticket was $3.50 if you had to pay for it. There was a lower level reserved section down the third base line for the families of Sox players. After the game we would stay for the fireworks show, then head to the player parking lot where my dad and the other players would come out. We lived in Hillside with a number of White Sox players, Joe Horlen, Ron Hansen, Al Weis, Pete Ward, Hoyt Wilhelm, Mike Hershberger, and Ken Berry to name a few. The playes would carpool to the park so their families would have a car. Hard to believe most players had one car and lived modest lives in the 60's.

Wow,what a childhood! Thanks for sharing and :welcome:

TheCommander

10-11-2007, 04:52 PM

Upon further review,I see you aren't new. :redface: Welcome none the less!

drjohnnyfever

10-12-2007, 11:37 AM

I'm glad this thread got brought back to life too; I missed it the first time around. I spent about 3 hours at work yesterday looking at slide shows! Lots of good stuff there, and a lot of cool parks. Keep up the good work!

Thanks for the great words on my site. It is alot of work, but well worth it. Scanning hundreds of photos for a park takes hours. I have a few friends who are trying to get my photos in a coffee table type book on ballparks. I know its a long shot, but that would be cool. The response from just about everyone on the sox board has been great. I will keep putting up parks as long as people enjoy the slideshows.

Professor Snape

10-12-2007, 02:38 PM

I hardly remember the old place, being born in 82. But that helps bring back some good memories.

PalehosePlanet

10-12-2007, 03:37 PM

The slideshow was absolutely beautiful. I was having a bad day until I saw the old "baseball palace of the world."

Thanks for finding it and posting it skobabe; nice job.

Professor Snape

10-18-2007, 01:47 PM

Does anyone know of anything like this for Chicago Stadium?

I never made it there and I'd love to see what it looked like.

flo-B-flo

10-20-2007, 06:00 PM

Great.....and sorrowful at the same time. I started to go to games there in 1964. When I saw reports on Chicago TV stations when they were tearing it down I cried.:whiner: Got a little misty looking at this slideshow too. Thanks for the memories.....:smile:

drjohnnyfever

10-23-2007, 02:42 AM

Does anyone know of anything like this for Chicago Stadium?

I never made it there and I'd love to see what it looked like.

I am the guy who did the comiskey slideshow, and i am working on one for chicago stadium too... i will keep you posted

hsnterprize

10-27-2007, 09:04 AM

Like so many other have said...thanks. I was actually away in the Army when Old Comiskey was being torn down and New Comiskey was being finished. I remember I was in North Carolina (Fort Bragg) when the new park opened. I also remember the next year when Oriole Park opened how jealous I was when people all over...even in Seoul, Korea where I was stationed at the time, were fawning over that place when New Comiskey opened up just one year prior.

If only Jerry knew then what he and all of us know now.

Anyway, thanks for the slideshow, and I'm looking forward to seeing one about the Old Chicago Stadium.

Like so many other have said...thanks. I was actually away in the Army when Old Comiskey was being torn down and New Comiskey was being finished. I remember I was in North Carolina (Fort Bragg) when the new park opened. I also remember the next year when Oriole Park opened how jealous I was when people all over...even in Seoul, Korea where I was stationed at the time, were fawning over that place when New Comiskey opened up just one year prior.

If only Jerry knew then what he and all of us know now.

Anyway, thanks for the slideshow, and I'm looking forward to seeing one about the Old Chicago Stadium.

I really look forward to that one too. I remember going there only a couple of times as a kid and being completely miserable because of the deafening noise on my little kid eardrums. I love seeing Bulls highlights from the early 90s at The Stadium and how the crowd used to look all packed together. Alot different than newer stadiums. I also love the fact that it was called a "stadium" and not a "center" or "arena." It just sounds intimidating.

drjohnnyfever

10-30-2007, 02:01 AM

I really look forward to that one too. I remember going there only a couple of times as a kid and being completely miserable because of the deafening noise on my little kid eardrums. I love seeing Bulls highlights from the early 90s at The Stadium and how the crowd used to look all packed together. Alot different than newer stadiums. I also love the fact that it was called a "stadium" and not a "center" or "arena." It just sounds intimidating.